Göteborg/Brixen – The idea to move to South Tyrol came to Sofia and Michael Bergenstjerna after a road trip around Italy in 2008 when they fell in love with Italian culture, the mountains and the friendly people. About five weeks ago they packed everything they could possibly fit into a small VW Golf and drove down from Göteborg in the south of Sweden to South Tyrol. They want to start a new life in Brixen and this is the story of how they plan to do it and why.
Sofia and Michael believe it is important to follow your heart and try to make your dreams come true in life. And if you do, good things will come your way. “Leaving Sweden was a difficult decision to make, but now that we are here it feels strange that we ever doubted this to be right for us. There is no place else that we’d rather be right now,” says Michael.
To many people Sweden is a symbol of a well-organised society with beautiful surroundings and a healthy economy. So why would they want to leave a place like that? “Sweden has a lot to offer, but to us South Tyrol is the ultimate place to enjoy a good quality of life. We are looking for a more relaxed lifestyle, a better climate and easy access to outdoor activities. We want to experience this early in life and not save everything for when we retire, like many other Swedes do,” says Sofia.
To put their plan into action, they have done quite a few things out of the ordinary. After getting married in August 2010 they moved into a small 20 sq m summer cabin next to Sofia’s parents’ house. (In Sweden it is very rare to live with or close to your parents.)
They had both quit their ordinary jobs before the summer to start up a business together. For a whole year they lived in 20 sq m and ran the business from a small room on top of a garage. The business was divided into two areas; business management consulting and starting a new brand for organic fashion socks called Sock Designers™.
In July 2011, they made the final decision to move to Italy. They told nobody. Instead they started to sell most of the things they owned to save up for the trip. One week before their leaving date they told everyone. Most people thought it was a brave and wonderful thing to do, but some people were a little less enthusiastic. “We are a couple with many ideas and sometimes when we have told people that we are doing something, and in the end we don’t, people often get disappointed. So this time we chose to be more careful,” says Sofia.
Sofia and Michael have both lived and worked abroad for many years before, which helps when getting to know a new country and culture. Sofia has a Bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design from the University of Canterbury in England, and has lived, studied and worked in the UK for four years. Sofia also has an interesting background as an entrepreneur and is one of the pioneers in Sweden for promoting and supporting other women to start a business. In 2005 she wrote a book about 200 female entrepreneurs in Sweden. The book functions as a guide and a source of inspiration to help others. She also established an online community called “Driftig.nu” – Sweden’s largest meeting place and network for women (10,000 members) with an interest in business. Alongside this her company held a yearly national business competition together with lectures and other events.
Michael, on the other hand, has a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, and has worked with international project management and operations development for a British company both in the US and in the UK. On top of this, Michael and Sofia both have a Master’s degree in Entrepreneurship and are completely fluent in the English language. “With our professional experience and language skills, we are convinced there are many opportunities for us to work with companies or schools in the region. We speak some German already and also plan to learn Italian so that we can get the best possible exchange with all the people we come in contact with,” says Michael.
At first they were not sure where in the South Tyrol they wanted to live. So when they were still in Sweden they decided to contact people who live in the South Tyrol area on Couchsurfing.org to find out more about the different towns from locals. Couchsurfing is an international community of people who like to travel and get to know new friends and cultures. People on Couchsurfing will offer you a free couch to sleep on for a few days. This is a popular way to travel across the world on a low budget.
“It is also a unique way of getting to know a new place the ‘non-tourist way’”, says Sofia. “We were lucky to make contact with freelance photographer Mirko Wenter, a Couchsurfer who lives in Meran. He has been of great help and inspiration to us in the process of getting to know South Tyrol and Meran in particular.”
The couple have now explored the area of South Tyrol for a couple of weeks and have decided to settle down in Brixen. The search for an apartment is in full swing. “Apartments here are both difficult to find and expensive to rent, but it will certainly be worth it! South Tyrol is such a great location in Europe. It is close to everything and this is also one of the reasons we chose Brixen. It is located right on the main highway between northern and southern Europe.”
It’s easy to tell that Sofia and Michael are very excited about their new life here in South Tyrol!
